Welcome to New Meridian. It was one of the Canopy Kingdom's most illustrious cities and know as the famous city of art, culture, and sophistication, where it plays host to a diverse population of humans and ferals from all corners of the world. It also has the bustling streets that resides many strange and mysterious fighters, but one of them was having a good time inside the MadMan's Cafe where they can get food and drinks to enjoy themselves. Sitting on her seat, a teenage girl was drinking her delicious chili dogs and cool vanilla milkshake. She has blue short spiky hair, green eyes, and peach skin. She wore a dark blue tank-top with azure denim open vest, azure skin-tight shorts with white trim, and and blue knee-high boots. Around her neck was a navy blue scarf that has five claw-like blades crossing over her neck.
As the girl continue to finish her meal, she could hear a male voice swooning behind her.
"Hey sweet thing, are you looking for a good time tonight?"
The girl turned around with an annoyed look on her face. But the man that looked like a person in his thirties comes up to her and puts his hand on her back to pull her onto his chest. His name was Riccardo, a guy who will try to hit on younger girls. Before the girl could say anything, a calm male voice spoke in the conversation.
"I would let go if I were you." A cool male voice spoke.
"Woah, another girl with a deep voice." Riccardo said with a sly smile. "Doesn't bother me at all."
"Okay, you ask for it!" A male voice said, his voice sounded dangerous.
The girl's scarf bursted out his claw-like blades from the neck while the girl gave Riccardo a cocky grin.
"You have a parasite?!" Riccardo screamed. "Not again!"
But it was too late for Riccardo to escape. The scarf attacked him by throwing multiple fists towards him. After that, the girl took out her money to pay her meal and left the place with confidence.
"Zephyr, you have to calm down." The girl said, ignoring the stares coming from the people at the MadMan's Cafe.
"I'm sorry, Sapphire." Zephyr apologized. "There's times that I can be overprotective on my host."
"I know, but I can take cake of myself." Sapphire assured with a smile. "So where's the location of the Skull Heart? I have to defeat the Skullgirl to obtain it."
"It's at the Grand Cathedral." Zephyr replied, sensing the presence of the artifact. "I can feel it. But I'm sure we look for trouble if someone can lead us to it."
"Let's go." Sapphire said with determination.
"Hold it!" A demanding female voice said coming from behind Sapphire. She has long red hair with bang on her right side and dark orange eyes. She wore a black blouse with a metal upside-down christ cross on her chest and long sleeves, black mini skirt, and black flat shoes. "State your business."
"We didn't mean to start trouble." Zephyr apologized. "We're looking for the Skull Heart."
"Any one who seeks the Skull Heart must go through me!" The woman said. "I am Parasoul, leader of the Black Ergets and princess of the Canopy Kingdom! I will not let everyone get in my way on destroying the Skull Heart!"
"You two?" Sapphire grinned. "I just wanted to see how tough the Skullgirl really is."
"Not on my watch!" Parasoul said, pulling out her living weapon black umbrella called Krieg. "Egrets, get ready!"
"Yes sir!" The Black Ergets troops spoke in an understanding manner.
"C'mon." Parasoul demanded determinedly. "Back to the track meet with you, speed demon."
"Let's go, princess." Sapphire smiked cockily.
Sapphire charged forward and spun quickly a tornado with Zephyr releasing a sound blast straight down at Parasoul, who took the damage from the attack. Parasoul began her first move as she jumped on her umbrella and releases several flaming stabs beneath her to attack Sapphire. Sapphire quickly got back up on her feet and Zephyr released a powerful sound wave that hit Parasoul from afar. But Parasoul wasn't done yet as she swiftly thrusts her umbrella three times very quickly while delivering a vertical slash to attack more. After few minutes of fast speed attacks and dodges, Parasoul started to become weak that gave Sapphire and Zephyr the perfect opportunity to strike. Sapphire jumped in the air while Zephyr was drawing up wind around his host and the two launched themselves forward with a burst of speed and streams of air released in an increased invulnerability, allowing them to defeat Parasoul simply by running and punching into her.
"Not...possible..." Parasoul said, falling down on the ground in pain and defeat.
"Looks like we won." Sapphire smiled cockily while crossing her arms proudly.
"You bet, Sapphire!" Zephyr grinned.
Arriving in a quiet suburb, Sapphire took a deep breath and recognize her neighborhood. Maplecrest was a home to every diverse collection of people and animals who wander the town's peaceful streets. It serves to be a calm and peaceful place, where many houses with picketed fencing wind down hilly roads far into the distance, the roads themselves littered with autumn leaves, and freshly falling from the maples above. But despite the gentle neighborhood, Sapphire and Zephyr spotted several kids getting autographs from their favorite star. After the star attraction was done with her fans, she turned around to watch Sapphire walking away and ran up to catch her attention.
"Hey, are you Sapphire?" The girl asked. She has cerulean hair that is tied in a sharp ponytail, beautiful and simple black eyes, and wore a sleeved orange and black mini dress and a pair of black thigh-lengthed boots with small skulls. "My name is Cerebella."
"Yeah, why?" Sapphire replied.
"Listen, my fans knows you as the fastest girl alive with great fighting combat." Cerebella grinned. "So, I was thinking about having a battle to test our strength and skills."
"Okay, I'll do it." Sapphire smiled cockily. "I was waiting for a challenge anyway."
"And besides, being armed is my gimmick." Cerebella challenged.
"And so much for your hat being lock and load." Sapphire joked.
Sapphire charged forward to attack first, but Cerebella hit her in the air and then jumped up to spin her hat in a helicopter motion. Sapphire jumped back onto her feet and delivered a powerful spinning double kick to the circus girl. Then, Cerebella used her hat to send a hard knuckle punch on Sapphire's stomach. Sapphire swiftly flipped herself up and creates a small cyclone made of sharp, sky blue winds that wrapped Cerebella around to ensnare her for a massive damage before Zephyr slammed his fists down on the circus girl to the ground. Cerebella hold Sapphire by the legs and then slapped her multiple times before Vice-Versa slammed her onto the ground. As Sapphire got up, she shot out a powerful vortex of air while Zephyr rapidly slashes his blades, allowing them to defeat Cerebella with a strong combination attack.
"All that...practice..." Cerebella said, falling down on the ground.
"Thanks for the challenge." Sapphire grinned while crossing her arms over her chest proudly.
"Not bad." Zephyr smirked.
Arriving in a nighttime seaside Dagonian-populated section of New Meridian, Sapphire and Zephyr started to look around the town of Little Innsmouth. Feeling her own stomach growling loudly, Sapphire walked down the street to the restaurant and went inside to take her order. After her yummy meal, she walked out of the restaurant until she was being stopped by a mysterious feminine figure. She has short black hair, tan skin, and red eyes while wearing a black bodysuit with a red stripe down the front and silver cuffs at the head, leg and arm holes with matching boots and black gloves. She also has a pair of segmented small golden rings on her wrists and a black metallic mask on her face.
"SAPPHIRE!" The girl shouted suddenly.
"Get ready, Sapphire!" Zephyr warned in shock. "Looks like we can't get away from her!"
"I'm on it." Sapphire said, getting ready to fight. 'But why does she knows my name?'
Sapphire tackled Garnet with a strong swift kick, sending her crashing to the ground. As Garnet got up, she creates a reddish-black lightning arrow-head-shaped bolt and send it straight towards Sapphire that sent her flying to the ground with a hard thud. Sapphire launched herself into the air and spun quickly to release a shock wave firing straight down at Garnet. But Garnet enveloped herself in a fiery, fire-like aura and performed a quick flip to attack Sapphire with her feet. As Sapphire got back on her feet, she started to circle around Garnet at high speeds and stirred up wind currents to form a vortex of wind that encloses her to major damage. Garnet throws out a powerful spinning kick straight ahead and create a reddish-black tornado that sucked Sapphire, who was in a massive damage. As the girls continue to battle faster and faster, Garnet was growing tired every second. Sapphire then defeated Garnet by Zephyr turned his arms into a piercing drill while she was running forward.
"Must...continue!" Garnet said, falling down on the ground in defeat.
"We won." Sapphire smiled with a wink.
"Of course." Zephyr grinned. He then look at Garnet in alarm. "Sapphire, we got to go! She's waking up!"
"Not yet." Sapphire said curiously. "She knows my name and she sounds very familiar too."
"Sapphire, it's me...Garnet!" The girl said, taking breath very carefully while getting up from the ground.
"Garnet?" Sapphire gasped sharply. That's when memories started to surge through her mind. She remembers Garnet really well. She was always very gothic, sharp-witted, and serious who always want to be alone. But now she's a totally different person. "Garnet, is that really you?" She noticed that Garnet was running away from her. "Garnet, wait!"
"She's gone." Zephyr said. "You should follow her."
"I agreed." Sapphire said with a nod. "Let's go."
Following her friend towards the daytime Little Innsmouth, Sapphire and Zephyr both continues to chase after Garnet until she was stopped by a feline catgirl. She has white bob-cut hair and wore a black trench coat.
"I've heard many fighters are looking for the Skullgirl for the Skull Heart." The catgirl said with a grin. "Are you one of them?"
"Yes, I am." Sapphire answered suspiciously.
"Well, I'm looking for someone who's more challenging than those Medici goons." The catgirl said, taking off her trench coat to reveal herself. "I'm Nadia Fortune, by the way. Do you accept my challenge?"
"I'm Sapphire." Sapphire smiled. "And my parasite is Zephyr and we accept your challenge."
"Nice scarf." Ms. Fortune joked with sarcasm.
"You're about to beat up by a speed demon." Zephyr challenged.
Nadia ran forward and throw several punches and kicks at Sapphire, but the speedster had blocked them in a speed combat. Sapphire ran herself straight into the catgirl while being enveloped in a light blue aura and delivers a powerful kick at the face, but Nadia quickly dodged the attack and made an X shaped claw at Sapphire's face while extending her arms. Sapphire then gives himself an extreme boost of speed that turned herself into a destructive attack with Zephyr rapidly slashing his claws towards Ms. Fortune. After a few minutes of speed and claw attacks, Ms. Fortune took many deep tiring breaths that gave Sapphire the best chance to finish her off. Sapphire started to spin her legs around in a style similar to breakdancing at high speeds while Zephyr was creating air currents to form a tornado that can damage Nadia to her defeat.
"You...show off...!" Ms. Fortune said, falling down on the ground in defeat.
"Great battle!" Sapphire smiled.
"Nice job." Zephyr congratulated.
After being victorious at her battle with the other fighters in her travel, Sapphire finally arrived at the Grand Cathedral. She and Zephyr both observed the hallowed building that serves as a place for the citizens of Canopy Kingdom to worship The Trinity. She quietly opened the doors and was amazed by the place resembling a traditional Catholic church with white marble walls, large stained glass windows, ornate frescoes, and a large imposingly statue. Shockingly, Sapphire realized that the Grand Cathedral was actually the headquarters for the Skullgirl herself. Before she can take her chance to finish her, Sapphire spotted Garnet being confronted by a two blue ponytailed ninja nurse, who seems to be very brutal and cunning. That's when Sapphire decided to save her friend.
"I can't believe this!" Garnet snarled. "You won't get away with this, Valentine!"
"Yet another failed experiment." The nurse known as Valentine smiled slyly. "Time to shut you down permanently, Garnet."
"Leave Garnet alone!" Sapphire demanded, standing in front of Garnet.
"Sapphire, you came back for me?" Garnet asked softly.
"Of course I did." Sapphire replied, smiling at Garnet. "You're my friend. Even though there's times we don't see eye to eye."
"Well, the blue speedster finally finish her race to the church." Valentine mocked. "Double, what should we do?"
"The Skull Heart can answer all of your problems, dear Sapphire." Double stated with her eyes closed and her hands closed together in a prayer state. "Anything you desire."
"The Skull Heart?" Sapphire gasped sharply. "In here?"
"Indeed." Double responded, lowering her hands and opened her frighteningly red eyes. "The Skullgirl Bloody Marie herself awaits below." She suddenly opened her mouth impossibly wide and transformed herself into her true form: a grotesque monster of distorted flesh and teeth with a crown-like object on her head. "But only if you prove yourself worthy!"
"Ready for this, Zephyr?" Sapphire grinned determinedly.
"Ready!" Zephyr grinned.
"Have you come to give confession?" Double questioned mockingly.
Double quickly shapeshifted into Parasoul to attack her opponent with her pistol, but Sapphire attacked first by performing two powerful wind backflip kicks for Double to take a hit. Double then shapeshifted into Filia to perform a quick jab at Sapphire while crouching on the floor. But Sapphire wasn't done with the shapeshifting freak. She hits Double with her feet while spinning like a drill and then started running rapidly with streams of air released by Zephyr as she delivered multiple punches at Double. As Double tried to shapeshift into Parasoul to attack more, Sapphire took her advantage to run quickly with streams of air released by Zephyr but ended the shapeshifter with a powerful kick. After Double was reverting into a disgusting fleshy pile of defeat, Sapphire was prepared to fight against Valentine as she sees her as an easier target. Sapphire charged forward to crouch down on the floor as Zephyr extended his claws to slash Valentine with incredible speed and power, which Valentine blocked the attack for a second. Sapphire then twirled her upside-down body and attacks with Zephyr's claws like helicopter blades at Valentine before started running rapidly with streams of air released by Zephyr as she delivered multiple punches at the nurse. Valentine fakes her own death to temporarily seal Sapphire with a freezing ward, but she was too late to attack. Sapphire defeated Valentine by somersaulting forward with one of her legs outstretched to slam it into the ground as she lands and then ran quickly with streams of air released by Zephyr as she delivered multiple punches at the nurse.
"Got...sloppy..." Valentine said, falling down on the ground in defeat.
"Great job!" Sapphire smiled.
"As always." Zephyr replied.
After defeating both Valentine and Double with Garnet watching after them, Sapphire rushed to the stairs and stopped once she noticed Zephyr feeling down for a minute.
"What's wrong, Zephyr?" Sapphire asked.
"Are you sure about this, Sapphire?" Zephyr questioned. "Even we're stronger than ever before, I'm not sure we stand a chance against her."
"Don't worry about it, Zephyr." Sapphire smiled determinedly. "We've got to try and this is the only way. Not if we're not strong enough to beat her, I'm not giving up and continue to finish her off at the very end."
As Sapphire entered inside the catacombs, she was a bit creeped out about the broken ruins of the place and saw a bizarre blue light coming from the Skullgirl, glaring calmly at her as she was really to make her final stand against a determined opponent. She has gray hair with skulls adorning her hair to keep her two ponytails straight and tidy and wore a maid outfit with a blue light hanging off of her back, but her eyes freaked Sapphire out the most. The Skullgirl's eyes were blood red that had the shape of half of a skull in both pupils.
"Sapphire, we finally meet again." Bloody Marie said calmly.
"Have we met before?" Sapphire questioned. "Tell me, Skullgirl. How?"
"All I know is that...your speed unrivaled all limitless possibilities from the Medici." Marie answered. That's when her voice became almost fierce and demonic. "The blood I have sworn to spill, despite your strong will and kind heart!"
When Marie raised her arms in the air, the sound of thunder crashes throughout the catacombs. Sapphire and Zephyr watched the entire place changing itself into a skeletal battlefield. She saw several fragments of broken Trinity statues looming overhead as a full moon shines down onto the arena. With little left to stand on for support, the Skullgirl's raw energy created a makeshift floor in the form of thick, bright blue strands with skulls laced into them with several skulls were littering at the ground.
"I will wipe all horrors from this world, starting with you." Marie stated, lifting her arms to bring forth giant skulls to protect around her in battle.
"That's what you think." Sapphire spat.
Sapphire charged forth and delivers a powerful spinning kick to the Skullgirl while her leg was enveloped in a blue wind energy. But the Skullgirl felt no pride and summoned a pile of skeletons from the ground to grapple Sapphire's feet with slight scatch damage before tossing her across the field. Sapphire got back on her feet and ran towards the Skullgirl at extremely fast speed while Zephyr wildly swung his blades at Marie. Unfortunately, Marie spew out an endless array of skulls that was flying in towards Sapphire, who was bith dodging and getting hit as the same time. Sapphire then ensnare the Skullgirl in a sharp, blue wind cyclone that was created by Zephyr while spinning him around her neck before running extremely with streams of air released by her parasite. Just as the Skullgirl summons another pile of skeletons from the ground, Sapphire blocked the attack by running increasingly with streams of air released by Zephyr to deliver Marie a powerful kick straight in the face. Sending her opponent a fierce glare, Marie began to lower herself down to the ground while emitting a blue explosion and changed herself into her second form: she was now floating in the air with a black figure created by the Skull Heart floating right behind her. As the shadow flies upward in the air, it quickly came down from above that damage Sapphire painfully. Lucky for her and her parasite, Zephyr created a powerful wind shockwave to attack the Skullgirl while Sapphire jumped backwards in the air. That's when the shadow started to attack when it sunk down into the ground until it then came up to punch Sapphire from underneath. After Sapphire blocked the attack, she began to run at extremely fast speed as Zephyr rapidly slashes Marie with his blades. Feeling weak and pain through her whole body, Marie started to change into her third and final form. After letting out a loud painful scream, Marie was now an organism with merely bones surrounding the Skull Heart as its energies was keeping her together. Marie then spew out an endless array of skulls to fly towards Sapphire, but the speedster jumped high in the air and started to run increasingly with a burst of speed while Zephyr used his wild claws to damage Marie. But the Skullgirl quickly send out the shadow to attack, leaving the shadow to jab at Sapphire and send her flying across the battlefield with moderate damage. Sapphire let out a cunning grin and knew the exact move to beat the Skullgirl. She lunged forward and spun herself in a cock-screw manner with her feet leading towards the Skullgirl and finished her with a powerful air kick. Marie gave one last scream in pain and her entire body began to vanish out of the battle, leaving the Skull Heart behind.
"I am who I am." Sapphire smiled with a wink. "The fastest girl alive!"
"Make a wish, Saph." Zephyr said.
After defeating the Skullgirl Marie, Sapphire and Zephyr took their possession of the Skull Heart as they took a very long look at it for her decision to be made.
"This is it, Sapphire." Zephyr spoke. "What are you gonna wish for?"
"Now that I'm thinking about it..." Sapphire responded, closing her eyes slowly. "It's time for me to move on for desperate measures." She then visualized the images of Garnet when she was a sharp-witted goth girl and now becoming a chaotic lab experiment. "But, Garnet...that poor girl. We may have been rivals for a long time, so I know what I have to do." That's when she opened her eyes with determination. "Skull Heart! I wish for Garnet to have a normal life again!"
"Your wish is pure." The Skull Heart stated. "Healing the gothic girl is noble, but it doesn't change the fact that you will seek danger lies ahead of you within the Medici family."
After her journey on battling the Skullgirl and making her wish on the Skull Heart was over, Sapphire was back at school with Zephyr still around her neck. She was stretching her arms and legs so she could race against the other runners, but her coach had caught her full attention once a familiar girl came in the track field.
"Before we begin, I'd like to introduce our new track member, Miss...Garnet." The coach spoke to his students. "Respect her."
Sapphire smiled as she already recognize the girl. She has has short black hair with a red streaks, tan skin, and red eyes with a tattoo that looked like two curved bright red lines. She was crossing her skinny arms over her chest and gave the runners an emotionless glance.
"Hi everyone." Garnet said. "I'm Garnet. I just moved here from the labs and running is my passion." Then, Garnet gave everyone a tiny smile. "Nice to meet you."
Sapphire let out a warm smile as she was glad to see her friend normal so they can be best friends again. After school, Sapphire and Garnet raced out of the school building to run back home together.